MEET THE NEW BOSS...
By the time September 23, 1993 came around, the "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn
Michaels was a two-time Intercontinental Champion. In less than a
year's time, Michaels had compiled an impressive list of victories,
which set him on his path toward the icon status he enjoys today. With
his seven-foot monster bodyguard Diesel (Kevin Nash) by his side, and
an ego almost as big as the man who protected him, it seemed no
contender, no matter how big or strong or skilled, would be able to
knock HBK off his Intercontinental Championship perch.

Little did anyone realize the man to do it would be then-World
Wrestling Federation President the late Jack Tunney.

Citing his "failure to appear for a number of title defenses" and his
"refusal to fulfill his contractual obligations", Tunney stripped
Michaels of the Intercontinental Title on the aforementioned date of
September 23, 1993. President Tunney then announced there would be a
20-man, over-the-top-rope battle royal held on the October 4 RAW
(taped September 27), in which the final two remaining competitors
would battle in a one-on-one match the following week to crown a new
champion. The final two participants remaining, as fate would have it,
ended up being "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and "The Model"
Rick Martel. With a wicked "Razor's Edge", Ramon would go on to win
the subsequent one-on-one confrontation to become the new
Intercontinental Champion. It appeared to all that the World Wrestling
Federation had finally crowned a definitive Intercontinental Champion.
And with the 6'6", 287-pound "Bad Guy" from Miami holding the gold, it
certainly looked like people would have a tough time getting the title
from around his muscular waist.

...SAME AS THE OLD BOSS???
When Shawn Michaels made his return on December 4, 1993, he did so in
the typical Heartbreak Kid fashion. That is, he did so in a
controversial manner. HBK was scheduled to be a guest on the "Reo's
Roundup" interview segment on Superstars, but what was not expected
was the sight of seeing Michaels carrying the Intercontinental
Championship belt under his arm. The belt he was carrying was the very
one he had been stripped of, but apparently no one had ever demanded
he return the belt. In the words of HBK himself, from his "Reo's
Roundup" segment, "There is only one undisputed World Wrestling
Federation Intercontinental Champion, and it is the Heartbreak Kid,
Shawn Michaels!" This, of course, brought Razor Ramon, the recognized
champion, into the proceedings. "So, say hello to the REAL
Intercontinental Champ!", said Razor to the former champion. Ramon
accented his words by bursting Michaels's bubble gum with his
toothpick.

Two days later on RAW, the feud started heating up between the current
champion and the claimant champion. Michaels was taking on the 1-2-3
Kid (Sean "X-Pac" Waltman) and was being especially rough on the Kid,
even using Ramon's "Razor's Edge" finisher to mock his friend. This
brought Ramon out to the ring, to stop the beating from continuing.
Michaels attempted to sucker him by slapping his face, but this only
caused Ramon to give chase...exactly what HBK wanted. As Ramon reached
through the entrance curtain to grab him, he was met by a huge right
hand from Diesel, knocking him to the floor. Michaels now went on the
assault, further adding insult to injury by giving Ramon two "Razor's
Edge" crucifix slams on the hard arena floor in the aisle. Even after
this heinous attack, Shawn Michaels continued to antagonize Razor
Ramon. At the Royal Rumble on January 22, 1994, Ramon was defending
the Intercontinental Title against Irwin R. Schyster (IRS). During the
match, while the referee was unconscious, Michaels had hit Ramon with
his bogus Intercontinental belt. Originally, IRS had gained a tained
three-count, but when another official came to the ring and showed the
original arbiter there had been foul play, the match continued, and
Ramon went on to successfully defended the title.

It was becoming obvious this war between the current champion and the
former champion had to reach some kind of a conclusion. The solution
came in the form of the iron rungs; a ladder match. Today, ladder
matches are a common part of WWE venecular. But in 1994, such a match
was a rarity in WWE rings; in fact, only Bret Hart and, ironically,
Shawn Michaels, had fought in one prior to this match. The object of
this match: both Intercontinental Championship belts would be
suspended high above the ring. The ladder could be used in any manner;
as a weapon and used to climb. The first man to reach the top of the
ladder and grab both title belts would be declared the winner. The
match would be featured at WrestleMania X, on March 20, 1994, in
Madison Square Garden, resulting in a true WrestleMania classic which
is still talked about by fans today.

THE MATCH
As Shawn Michaels made his entrance with Diesel, he walked around the
ladder in an attempt to say luck was on his side. In contrast, Razor
Ramon wanted to show he was without fear on this night, and he walked
directly under the ladder on his way to the ring. After Ramon handed
Tony Chimel his gold chains, the bell sounded, and we were under way.
Ramon and Michaels started circling one another, and right away,
Michaels caught Ramon in a side headlock and turned it into a
hammerlock. Ramon then reversed the hammerlock, but Michaels reached
down and countered with a single leg trip, taking Ramon to the mat.
With his other foot, Ramon pushed Michaels to the ropes. Michaels ran
the ropes, jumped over Ramon, and bounced off the opposite ropes. HBK
attempted a hiplock, and Razor twice blocked the move. Michaels
responded with a poke to his eyes. Ramon blocked an attempted Rocker
Dropper, and turned it into a chokeslam. Ramon threw a right hand
shot, and whipped Michaels to the ropes. Michaels bounced off, ducked
two Ramon clotheslines, and caught "The Bad Guy" with a neckbreaker.
The claimant champion went on the attack, stomping away on the current
champion. HBK went to ram Ramon into the turnbuckle, but Ramon blocked
and countered with one of his own. Ramon then hit Michaels with a
shoulderblock and ran the ropes. Michaels ducked, and threw Ramon to
the outside of the ring, onto the arena floor. As Ramon walked around
the ring, he ran into a stiff clothesline from Michaels's bodyguard
Diesel. As a result of his interference, referee Earl Hebner stepped
in, and to the approval of the fans at WrestleMania X, he ejected
Diesel from the building. Now, the contest was a bit more evenly
matched, without Michaels's equalizer watching over the proceedings.

As HBK stood on the ropes and objected to the call, Ramon took
advantage and went on the attack. With Michaels in the corner, Ramon
Irish whipped him to the opposing corner, and Michaels went upside
down in the corner but landed back on his feet, stumbling into the
middle of the ring. Ramon then bounced off the ropes, and clotheslined
Michaels over the top rope to the floor. Ramon followed hot on his
heels, hit Michaels with a right handed shot, and then went to another
side of the ring to pull away the padding on the arena floor. Ramon
moved in to further his attack, but Michaels stopped him by poking him
in the eyes. Michaels threw Ramon back into the ring, and went on the
attack, stomping and kicking away at the recogonized champion.
Michaels whipped Ramon to the ropes, but found himself reversed.
Michaels bounced off the ropes, and Ramon caught him with a right hand
to the jaw. Ramon then went for his finisher the "Razor's Edge", but
Michaels flipped him over the top rope and onto the exposed arena
floor. Michaels slowly walked down the aisle and grabbed the iron
ladder, the first time in the match it would come into play. Ramon
then rolled through the ring to the other side to meet HBK halfway.
Ramon leveled Michaels with a right handed shot, threw him back into
the ring, and grabbed the ladder himself. Ramon placed the ladder at
the edge of the apron for only a few seconds, but this was enough for
Michaels to execute a baseball slide into the ladder, jarring Ramon in
the midsection and flooring him on the outside. Michaels then went to
the outside, and rammed Ramon into the steel ring steps. Ramon rolled
back into the ring, but Michaels followed, ladder in hands. Michaels
started to use the ladder as a weapon, twice ramming the ladder hard
into the midsection of "The Bad Guy". Michaels then picked the ladder
up again and slammed it over the back of Ramon. As Ramon fell into the
ropes, Michaels bounced off the opposite ropes, and smashed Ramon's
back again with the ladder. Michaels then set up the ladder in the
middle of the ring, and made the first attempt of the match to climb
up and grab the belts high above the ring. Ramon soon followed him and
grabbed for him, but in the process mistakenly pulled his tights down,
to the delight of the female fans in attendance. Michaels kicked him
off and proceeded to drop an elbow from the iron rungs. Michaels then
set the ladder up in the corner. After slamming Ramon to the mat,
Michaels climbed the ropes, stepped onto the top rung of the ladder
with both feet, and came down with a breathtaking body splash onto
Ramon.

Michaels struggled to his feet, pulled the ladder to the center of the
ring, and started the climb to glory. Ramon soon rose up himself, and
pushed the ladder over, causing Michaels to fall off and land throat
first across the top rope. Both men were down momentarily, but soon
Michaels was back on his feet, grabbing Ramon. Instinctively, Ramon
applied a side headlock, and Michaels responded by pushing Ramon to
the ropes. Ramon bounced off, Michaels dropped down, and both men
collided head first, sending them down to the mat. Again, both men
found themselves down on the canvas, but Michaels slowly made it to
his feet. Michaels grabbed the ladder, folded it, and propped it up in
a corner of the ring. Ramon quickly regained his footing, but Michaels
hit him with a right. Michaels then attempted to throw Ramon to the
corner, but Ramon reversed, and HBK ended up hitting the ladder
himself, flying upside down to the arena floor. Ramon went outside the
ring and brought the ladder with him, hitting Michaels in the chest
and the back with it. With Michaels down in the aisle, Ramon propped
the ladder against the ring, grabbed Shawn, and slingshotted him
face-first into the ladder. Michaels hit the floor, with the ladder on
top of him. Ramon got up, grabbed Michaels and threw him back into the
ring. Ramon followed with the ladder in his possession, and smacked
HBK upside the head with it, sending Michaels back outside the ring
yet again. Ramon looked up to the ceiling of MSG where the belts were
hanging, rose to his feet, set up the ladder, and started the long
hard climb. But from behind, Michaels was climbing the ropes, and he
came down with a double axhandle to Ramon's back. Ramon hit the
canvas, but the ladder fell on top of Michaels on the way down.
Michaels then made it to his feet slowly, and stood the ladder up in
the center, as Ramon was doing the same. Both men started to climb
both sides of the ladder, and at the top, a slugest ensued. Ramon soon
ended the exchange by bodyslamming Michaels off the ladder, but in the
process, the recognized champion fell to the mat with the ladder
following close behind. Ramon quickly made it back up again, set up
the ladder, and started to climb again. As Ramon reached the belts,
Michaels dropkicked the ladder, causing "The Bad Guy" to fall off.
Somehow, the ladder managed to stay put. Michaels again regains his
footing, and pushed the ladder onto the fallen Ramon. Michaels then
threw Ramon to the ropes, missed a clothesline, but caught Ramon on
the rebound with his celebrated finisher, Sweet Chin Music. Michaels
then moved in for the kill, and dropped Ramon on his head with a
piledriver. Michaels grabbed the ladder and folded it, climbing the
ropes with the ladder in his grip. He then crashed down onto Ramon's
chest, with the ladder on top of him. HBK, sensing victory after
hitting Ramon with every available weapon in his arsenal, set up the
ladder with Ramon directly under it.

As it would turn out, this would be the key to HBK's undoing. Seeing
Michaels and the ladder above him, Ramon started to shake the ladder.
When that proved to be unsuccessful, Ramon quickly hit the ropes and
ran himself into the ladder, causing the ladder--and Michaels--to
fall. Michaels landed crotch-first on the top rope, and found himself
entangled in the ropes. Ramon slowly asecnded the ladder, as Michaels
attempted to free himself. With the sold-out Madison Square Garden
crowd cheering him on, Ramon grabbed both belts to successfully defend
his title at 19:47. The fans responded by cheering both men for their
incredible efforts, and for giving them one of the most memorable
matches in WrestleMania history. There was also no disputing who the
Intercontinental Champion was now: "The Bad Guy", Razor Ramon.

AFTERMATH
Shawn Michaels would gain a measure of revenge on Razor Ramon, albeit
vicariously through his bodyguard Diesel. At an April 13, 1994 taping
of Superstars, Diesel defeated Ramon to win the Intercontinental
Championship. A few months later, at SummerSlam on August 27, Ramon
(with former NFL star Walter Payton in his corner) regained the title
from Diesel, and would later go on to become the first-ever four time
Intercontinental Champion.

What many fans at the time did not realize, was how tight a unit Scott
Hall, Shawn Michaels, and Kevin Nash were behind the scenes. Together,
later adding Triple H, they were "The Clique", and they were a
promoter's nightmare, using backstage politics to keep themselves at
the top of the card, a tactic still employed by Triple H today. When
Hall and Nash left the Federation in 1996, they went on to form the
most powerful clique in wrestling history with Hulk Hogan, the New
World Order (nWo), in WCW. That same year, Michaels would become WWE
Champion for the first time in his career.

Many fans still point to the ladder match at WrestleMania X as the
pivotal moment in the respective careers of both the "Heartbreak Kid"
and the "Bad Guy", the match that set them on the path to
superstardom. Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels were good friends
backstage, but both realized in front of the cameras, they were even
more entertaining as bitter enemies.